Does anybody still think a striker is our first priority?

[Tumbleweed 106]

I would be interested in your views on this as I have thought for a while that the defence needs the most urgent attention. So far they have managed to get away with it, some poor finishing and good Green saves have flattered the poor positioning and marking and the lack of height or domination over opposition forwards. But we could buy Nistelrooy, Henry, Rooney, Owen or Baros and they still would be unlikely to score enough on their own to make up for an inadequate defence. If Doherty is not the answer (he hasn''t even been tried there yet to my knowledge) we need someone who is- FAST.

[ZLF 271]

I have to agree with your learned view TW. However it is something that can be remedied before Jan and probably without the need to buy anyone else.

Changes have to be made at the back and either Shackell or the Doc deserve a chance to partner either Charlie or Flem.

Bit SOMEONE must take the lead and organise that back line - they seem like 4 strangers at the moment.

OTBC

[Tumbleweed 106]

In a separate post Zipper you make the case for coaching at the back. What concerns me is that we are talking about experienced pros (certainly in the middle) and the public statements and unchanged lineups indicate that the management think there is no problem. "Keep up the workrate" "Keep the ball and the results will come"- no indication that there is anything fundamentally wrong. I agree with you that coaching could solve these problems but there is no evidence so far that they are capable of sorting it out. At the moment I''d rather have Sol Campbell than Thierry Henry.

I agree 100% with changing things back there and I think Doc or Shacks deserve a go. It can''t get much worse than the headless chicken syndrome we see at the moment.

[DumbleDelia is Magic 0]

It''s a good point Tumbleweed.  I still think we need someone up front who is much more clinical and takes their chances.  However, it''s also becoming obvious that we need someone creative in the midfield.  If it doesn''t come through Hucks it doesn''t come at all and this is something we need to sort out.

[First Wizard 0]

[quote]It''s a good point Tumbleweed. I still think we need someone up front who is much more clinical and takes their chances. However, it''s also becoming obvious that we need someone creative in the mid...[/quote]

I''d start with a new manager first!.

But to keep this thread on track, I would add a new striker at the top of our priorities, for pretty obvious reason''s.

Then, a tall central defender with Premiership experience. Oh, silly me, that''s why I thought Worthy signed Docherty!.

[ZLF 271]

Doc is an interesting one. He was bought as a centre back but then played as a striker. We were then told that his fitness isnt up to scratch so he needs to work harder.

If his fitness wasnt up to it how come he got to start up front? Or has his fitness level gone down since he joined the club?

Anyway Worthy needs to make some changes which means blooding his new signings or youth for a run of games.

Changing Worthy at this stage does no one any favours, leaast of all NCFC

OTBC

[Stella Canary 0]

Centre back is number 1 at the moment - and anyone who does not agree should re-watch the first goal at the Valley again.

It was a good training exercise for Charlton - game of head tennis then get bored so stick it in the net.  All the goals on saturday were pretty poor, and this needs to be sorted, be that from our current ranks or bringing someone in - I don''t know.

At the moment, I can''t see us turning the corner - the players have now lost all confidence and that was obvious on Saturday afternoon.

[KeelansGlove 0]

Yes I think it is important that every team has a player who can score goals. As yet we don''t have one. We have untried options in defence (Helveg, Doherty, Shackell) central.

We seem unable to sort central midfield Surely Safri is worth a try alongside Francis as he offers something both defensive and attacking.

Upfront we have nobody who can score goals (with the exception of Jarvis and Crowe) we have tried the options and there is nobody who can come up with the goods, perhaps Jonson or Henderson playing upfront would be worth one last roll of the dice otherwise we should maybe play with none upfront and another two more defenders as we don''t seem to be able to keep the ball away from our goal for long with the current players.

It is a well known fact that the more of a threat you pose to your opponents the more defensive formation they adopt. Lets be fair we haven''t looked like scoring all season so all the people we play are free to attack at will without fear of being caught on the break like we were so effectively on Saturday.

A new manager won''t help anyone, we couldnt afford anyone that would make a difference.

 

[susie b 0]

From what Simon Charlton is saying today I think it''s obvious that the players feel they need to tighten up at the back (understatement) and build from there.  Whether this means a new player or not remains to be seen, but we can''t just bide our time and wait for the window to open. This is why I was suggesting that we should try the 4-5-1 that Palace employ so successfully and try to catch teams on the break with our pace upfront.  Yes, that will mean a few players losing out on a starting berth until we achieve this and get some more points on the board, but surely it''s got to be worth a go?! 

How about:  Green, Eddy, Flem, Shacks, Charlie, Bents, Damo, Safri, Hucks, Macca, Sven?

Possible changes to this might be: Helveg in the middle instead of Bents, who could be pushed out onto the left instead of Macca (supersub!), Mully in the middle instead of Bents or Macca, but on the bench at least, Jimmy B on the left instead of Macca to give us more cover on that side when defending, Leon up front instead of Sven if we are looking to raw pace (but on the bench at least), and so on.  You will notice who I''ve dropped no doubt, but I think it''s safe to say that Worthy will feel the need to make changes for Saturday''s game and there is no such thing for us now (surely) as playing a more attacking line up at home.  We simply have to put points on the board no matter how that is achieved - win ugly if we have to.

[Canarychick 0]

Quote : SOMEONE must take the lead and organise that back line - they seem like 4 strangers at the moment.Yep, agree with that. Since Malky went, no-one drives that team never mind the back four. Drury is captain but he is not a motivator.

Yes a striker is urgently needed. Without goals, you don''t win matches.

[We need a Manager 0]

We need strengthening in every department , truth is we have about 3 players who are up to the standard required.